Introducing Hidden

‘Hidden’ challenges people to walk in another person’s shoes.

The project brings to life a series of lockdown stories and characters. Each character is experiencing multiple challenges and barriers at this time. The project explores self-neglect, financial exploitation, addiction, mental/physical wellbeing and loneliness.

Through ‘Hidden’ we hope people can play a greater role in designing, delivering and evaluating their services. This work acts as a catalyst for improvement within health and social care, it helps provide deeper insight and communicate the ideas, opinions and experiences of a broader range of people.

Hidden

The Podcast

‘Hidden’ is an interactive audio experience that challenges people to walk in another person’s shoes and explore their hidden lives, using the listener’s own home as a theatrical backdrop. It has been made by people in social isolation on equipment they have had to hand.

“Stand Up. Walk over to your front door. Look outside. Breathe… When you turn around the home behind you will no longer be your home…it will be Richard’s home also.”

By listening, answering questions and using your imagination, you will experience the hidden lives people are facing in social isolation.
“Breathe. Listen. Take one step forward. Glass.”

We use immersive audio together with the voices and stories of real people to explore issues of safeguarding and care.

Each podcast episode is accompanied by an additional piece of audio. This additional audio captures discussion and debate between health and social care practitioners and commissioners and people with a diverse range of lived experience.

Before you listen can you help us by filling in this very short survey? It helps us with funding our work and sharing it with communities…

Episode 1

“Stand Up. Walk over to your front door. Look outside. Breathe… When you turn around the home behind you will no longer be your home…it will be Richard’s home also.”

Through listening to this, you will learn a little about the people who have created it. You will also discover Richard and Richard’s lockdown story. Richard is 70. He has a heart condition, diabetes and a mental health condition. He is vulnerable. You will discover things about Richard’s life before Covid-19 and during his time in social isolation. You will learn that he has been a victim of financial exploitation. Richard is a fictional character devised by the company using their skills, imagination and lived experience as inspiration.

“It’s important to put a light on the hidden problems people are currently facing”

Johnaka. ‘Monolgue John’

“A great resource to share with practitioners to change hearts and minds about safeguarding.”

Christine TowersTogether Matters

“Amazing & powerful, thank you for immersing us in Richard’s world and for thought provoking discussion.”

CatCurator Of Change

"It is vital that we make the time to really understand the challenges people face so we can start conversations about how we can all help.”

Julie FarleyOldham Safeguarding Adults Board

The Workshop

Using a combination of theatre, music, audio and film we create immersive performances, workshops and events (more recently using digital methods and platforms). Our work acts as a catalyst for improvement within health and social care, it helps provide deeper insight and communicate the ideas, opinions, experiences, imaginations, of broader range of people in meaningful and accessible manner.

Our work gives people with lived experience the opportunity to bring their experiences to life and by doing so improve the services they and others receive. Our work also gives health and social care organisations the opportunity to invest in the health and wellbeing of people, while gaining much needed insight.

The ‘Hidden’ workshop and training offer is aimed at health and social care practitioners, commissioners and organisations, and co-delivered with people with lived experience. Workshops will be tailored around the people you work with, the challenges your organisation faces and the change you want to see. We are experts in using creativity to harness the power of people’s lived experience and facilitating a workshop that allows health and social care practitioners to do what they do best.

If you would like to find out more about ‘Hidden’ or to book a place on one of our upcoming workshops, please get in touch

“We need these stories, these methods of communicating what is happening to people, they need to be heard.”

Rachel WayBuurtzorg Britain & Ireland

“A brilliant way to communicate people’s vulnerabilities to a wider audience”

Jackie Alexander

“Hidden is unique in its ability to transport us into other people’s lives."

Karen LloydOldham Cares

The Project

Over the next few months, through funded projects and commissions we hope to work with many more groups exploring a range of issues through ‘Hidden’. We are looking for partners who work with groups of people within specific communities and wish to explore lockdown connected challenges and barriers through creativity.

We will put together a creative team including a writer, composer, sound engineer and orchestral musician, to collaborate alongside the people you work with to create a new ‘Hidden’ episode.

Each new episode will be launched in collaboration with the partner organisation. During each launch period we will deliver exploratory workshops with people with lived experience of the central themes, and with health and social care practitioners/commissioners. During these workshops, all participants will reflect on the case, and be challenged to consider what a person-centred approach to caring and supporting people means at this difficult time.

Interested? Want to know more?

Say hello & get in touch